let go
Idioms-
Allow to escape, set free, as in The police decided to let him go . [c. 1300]
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Also, let go of . Release one's hold on, as in Please let go of my sleeve , or Once he starts on this subject, he never lets go . [Early 1400s]
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let it go . Allow it to stand or be accepted. For example, Let it go; we needn't discuss it further . This usage is sometimes amplified to let it go at that , meaning “allow matters to stand as they are.” [Late 1800s]
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Cease to employ, dismiss, as in They had to let 20 workers go .
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Also, let oneself go . Behave without restraint, abandon one's inhibitions; also, neglect one's personal hygiene and appearance. For example, When the music began, Jean let herself go and started a wild dance , or After her husband's death she let herself go, forgetting to bathe and staying in her nightgown all day . The first sense dates from the late 1800s, the second from the early 1900s.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Among those let go is Dean Richards, WGN’s long time entertainment reporter and critic who has been a fixture at Hollywood press junkets.
From Los Angeles Times
While firms approach this technology differently, it’s clear that generative AI plays a role in who is promoted and who is let go.
From MarketWatch
Though it might seem like professional credibility comes from maintaining control, it sometimes also comes from letting go, writes Harvard Business School professor Leslie John.
Duane let go of the toboggan because there really was no purpose in them staying together at this point.
From Literature
And that took letting go of whatever this masculine image was that was blocking me.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
